More Topics

Weather Forecast

Search warrant reveals details in Minnesota bar attack

Steve "Beaver" Hlinsky of Forada, Minn., shown celebrating a double-eagle on the golf course, was attacked at a bar and later died. (Submitted photo)

ALEXANDRIA, Minn.—Investigators are seeking the cell phone records of four men who were at a central Minnesota bar the night a man was attacked, with the request for a search warrant providing new details in the case.

The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of 46-year-old Steven "Beaver' Hlinsky of Forada. In the early-morning hours of May 5, Hlinsky was found on the sidewalk outside the Muddy Boot Bar and Grill in Forada, a town about nine miles south of Alexandria.

Hlinsky was hospitalized with multiple severe injuries, including a fractured skull. He was released from St. Cloud Hospital on May 11, but died two days later.

Douglas County Sheriff Troy Wolbersen said Wednesday, May 16, that interviews are being conducted. No arrests had been made.

According to search warrants dated May 7:

Witness statements and surveillance footage from inside and outside the Muddy Boot helped deputies identify four men outside the bar at the time of the assault. The warrant identifies there were three 33-year-old men and one 40-year man.

The search warrant states that surveillance footage from inside the bar shows Hlinsky escorting out of the bar a man who, according to witnesses, had been smoking marijuana and blew marijuana smoke onto Hlinsky. When the main door is opened, the video reportedly shows the man putting Hlinsky into a headlock and another man grabbing Hlinsky by the right arm.

Seconds later, the video shows a friend of Hlinsky's, along with the bartender, exiting the bar. When those two open the door, the video shows one of the four men backing away from the area where Hlinsky was assaulted. The bartender returned to the bar to call 911. The video reportedly shows one of the four men open the door and tell the bartender to call 911.

According to the search warrant, a surveillance camera outside and across the street from the Muddy Boot appears to show one of the four men running to his vehicle and speeding off, with two other men getting into a vehicle and speeding away. The search warrant did not say anything about the whereabouts of the fourth man.

The search warrant states that deputies were told the four men came into the Muddy Boot together, and they were in the immediate area of where Hlinsky was assaulted.

According to the warrant, because the men would have the ability to conspire with one another about the chain of events, deputies were requesting cell phone records from May 4-7.

Celeste is a reporter for the Alexandria Echo Press and has lived in the Alexandria Lakes Area since 1997. She first worked for the Echo Press as a reporter from 1999 to 2011, and returned in June 2016 to report on the community she calls home. She enjoys running and has participated in nearly 200 races with her husband, Al, covering the 5K, 10K, 10-mile and half-marathon distances.